Dock Sharing
by Goldsaddletank
Summary: Hank, Jacob, Rosie and George learn the importance of being able to cooperate when settling down, and the tugs all share a dock with their new friends. (Request for tate310)
One day in the Big Harbour, Theodore and his friends were all told that there would be changes to their dock placements.

Rosie the assistant coastguard ship, Versa the assistant research vessel, Jacob the riverboat and Penny the supply vessel were all new to the Big Harbour, and hadn't had a proper dock to sleep in, you see. But now, they would all have somewhere to sleep- except this meant that the tugs had to give up part of their dock in order to accommodate everyone.

The Dispatcher told them that Hank was to share with Jacob, and George was going to share space with Rosie. Foduck and Versa were in the same dock, and Penny was with Emily.

This meant that Theodore didn't have anyone new sharing his dock and he was a little conflicted on this matter.

Emily and Penny were keen to share a dock, as Penny had strived to become as hard working as Emily and now she did wonderfully in the Big Harbour as she always did her job and never complained or disobeyed. The Dispatcher was very pleased with her, and she is now part of the essential fleet.

Foduck and Versa were also happy enough with their arrangements. The two were very smart boats, and Versa works with the Research Team, namely with her new friend, Rebecca the Research Vessel. Foduck is close friends with the Big Harbour Research Team and so he and Versa talk a lot about sea life and safety policies.

But George was not looking forward to dealing with Rosie at all, and Hank knew that Jacob would get on his nerves, as he was a tad too pessimistic and sometimes got on everyone else's nerves.

"Great..." George grumbled. "This is going to be a long night!"

"Yeah, it will." Hank agreed gloomily.

...

At last, night arrived. Theodore fell asleep nearly straightaway, so Hank was stuck with Jacob.

"Your dock is very lonesome, Hank." Jacob huffed.

"It's a lot quieter!" Hank retorted.

Soon, the two ended up in a squabble about the dock.

Meanwhile, George was making rumbling noises with his engine again, as he usually did before he drifted off, but Rosie opened her eyes and gave George a sleepy look.

"Excuse me, George, but do you mind turning that off? I would like to get some sleep tonight, please." Rosie requested politely.

George just grumbled about how he wasn't being allowed to do his usual night routine, but he reluctantly turned his engine off, anyway.

"Thank you, George." Rosie said, and settled down to sleep, not noticing that George was still cross with her for asking him to turn his engine off.

...

Meanwhile, Hank and Jacob were still arguing about the quietness of the dock, with Jacob continually stating that it was a forlorn, miserable dock, and Hank argued that the dock was much quieter, and he and Theodore always slept well in a quiet dock.

"Oh dear, I don't like it, Emily!" Penny whispered.

"I don't like it either." Emily replied. "I hate seeing my friends fight. Besides, the Dispatcher will be very cross if we wake him."

"That is inevitable, Emily!" Penny pointed out.

Meanwhile, Foduck and Versa were also having trouble dealing with their friends fighting.

"It's too loud, Foduck!" Versa hissed.

"I know. I'm gonna see if Theodore's okay. Are you coming?"

"I... guess."

So Foduck led Versa out of the dock and over to check on Theodore, who had been awakened by the racket.

"Wha... What's going on, Foduck?" Theodore yawned loudly.

"Everyone's getting very restless and annoyed with each other for silly reasons." Foduck replied.

"Why can't everyone get along?" Theodore asked him sadly.

"I know. I hate squabbles." Versa replied softly.

"It will be okay." The safety tug assured. "We just need to get them to see reason."

"But, how do we do that?" Versa asked.

"Is there anyone who isn't arguing?" Theodore asked hopefully.

"Well, I know Penny and Emily aren't, but that's it." Versa told him.

"Affirmative, Theodore." Foduck agreed. "Hank was quarrelling with Jacob and George is definitely mad at Rosie."

"Hm, not much help. I'll go and get Penny and Emily. You two wait here."

And he zipped off towards their dock.

Foduck and Versa wondered what Theodore had planned...

...

When Theodore explained everything to Emily and Penny, they were only too willing to come with him due to the ongoing noise.

So once Theodore had gathered everyone together, he asked Penny and Emily to attempt to break up the fights between everyone in the harbour. He also asked Foduck to spray them with his hose if they refused to listen, and then Versa and Theodore could explain that there was nothing wrong with sharing a dock.

Everyone agreed that the plan could potentially work, and they had to act fast, before the Dispatcher was awoken.

But he continued to snore gently as Emily and Penny re-entered the dock.

"Man, the Dispatcher is a heavy sleeper!" Penny said in awe.

"Well, he always is if he's especially tired." Emily replied.

So Emily went over to talk to Hank and Jacob, who were still arguing.

"Excuse me, you two, but I think it's time that you stopped disagreeing, and listen for a moment." She said.

"No!" Both Hank and Jacob chorused.

After an unsuccessful second attempt, Emily asked Foduck to come over.

"Pph-like I'm scared of Foduck!" Jacob snorted.

"Sorry Hank." Theodore piped up suddenly from nowhere. "Spray them, Foduck!"

And Foduck sprayed them to get them to stop arguing. He then had to do the same for George and Rosie.

Once they had the attention of the two soaking tugs and dripping vessels, Theodore began to speak.

"We don't see why you are so annoyed about sharing a dock." Theodore began. "Emily and Foduck have adapted to the new placements fine."

"Yes!" Versa agreed. "I know being in new surroundings or situations isn't always pleasant, but don't you think it'd be nice to have someone to talk to at the end of the day, especially if you didn't work with them?"

"Well, you and Hank have a lonely dock!" Jacob sniffed.

"We don't!" Hank replied. "It's the opposite actually!"

"Hank's right, Jacob- our dock is anything but deserted. Back in my old harbour I slept in my own dock. I enjoyed that- or at least, I thought I did. It was great being on my own sometimes, but since moving here, I've learned to appreciate the benefits of sharing a dock, because I share one with my best friend, Hank, and we always talk about our day, or discuss our worries and troubles before sleep, and most importantly, we always say goodnight to each other. He smiled at Hank.

Hank smiled too. Being reminded of those good times with Theodore made him realise that he had been unaccepting of his friend Jacob joining the dock.

"I'm sorry I wasn't keen on having you in our dock, Jacob." Hank said quietly.

Jacob smiled.

"You're forgiven. And Hank, I'm sorry that I said your dock was lonely and a misery. Clearly you and Theodore become much closer through your conversations."

"You're welcome to join us if you want, Jacob." Hank offered.

"I will when I'm up to it. Thank you Hank."

Meanwhile, George and Rosie apologised to each other for their argument.

"I know you're used to doing it every night, George, so I'll let you continue from now on." Rosie told him.

"Thank you. And in exchange, I shall keep it to a minimum time." George replied.

"So the two tugs learned that night that they all had a place in the Big Harbour, and sharing was important indeed.


End file.
